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According to the news, the temperature in parts of Hokkaido will go down to minus 16 degrees centigrade today. The sea ice has come in from the Okhotsk Sea along the north side of the island. It is very cold, but it isn’t as cold as it is in some parts of the U.S. Temperatures around the Great Lakes have dropped to minus 30 degrees. When the wind blows, it can feel like minus 45 degrees. The government is telling people not to stay outside for a long time. It is so cold that the zoo in Chicago will be closed for a couple of days.
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Notes:
trim 刈り込んで整える、手入れする;
sap (植物の)樹液
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If you live in an area where there is no snow, you can see gardeners outside trimming trees. This is a busy time of year for them. Why do they choose the winter to do their work? There are two reasons. One reason is that many trees lose their leaves, so it is easier for gardeners to see which branches they should cut and which ones they should leave. Another reason is that the tree doesn’t lose a lot of sap . The tree is sleeping, so it doesn’t go into shock when it is cut. When spring comes, the sap comes back up, and the tree starts to grow again. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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